It’s been a tale of two bands in England this week. The much anticipated reunion of Oasis after sixteen years apart and the final appearance of Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath.

The Oasis return has, so far, been a triumph. Their performance matched the hype and many would say they are better than ever. For Black Sabbath it was billed as the band’s final thank you and farewell to the place they grew up having previously done so on the The End Tour in 2016. This concert gave back to that area with all profits from the show being shared equally between Cure Parkinson’s, Birmingham Children’s Hospital and Acorn Children’s Hospice, a Children’s Hospice supported by Aston Villa Football Club.

I have been a fan of Black Sabbath for some forty five years, I cannot think of another band that influenced rock and heavy metal to the extent they did and so to see Ozzy sat in a chair with a mug of tea next to him whilst he sang Iron Man took some watching. It is the end of a unique era for them and many like them, some might say that end happened a long time ago but I couldn’t help but think who are they passing the baton on to?

Putting all of the hysteria around Oasis aside I wondered if what lays at the heart of this is a fundamental need to go back to a time when life was less complicated. The Gallagher Brothers have said repeatedly they are a band that come on, play songs and leave. They cite their concert at Knebworth in 1996 as the last time a crowd was ever truly immersed in a concert performance such as that. They bemoan the use of phones to record concerts instead of enjoying the moment and I hope their reunion could encourage some to put their mobiles away.

So what band currently could stir up the mania that comes with Oasis? Who and where are the new generation of bands to replace them and Black Sabbath? I don’t see one. Neither band might be everyone’s proverbial cup of tea but their contribution to their respective genres is immense. With the advancement in artificial intelligence and the undoubted effect that will have on music the importance of a what you see is what you get band like Oasis has never been more important.